This invention relates to an automatic cleaning system for pools such as swimming pools. More particularly, this invention relates to a swimming pool cleaning system which automatically develops various current patterns about the pool so as to dislodge accumulated dirt and debris from the inner surface thereof and sweep it to the main drain for removal.
Many prior art automatic swimming pool cleaners are known. These prior art cleaners in the main are characterized by their relative complexity and high cost. Others of these prior art devices are inefficient in operation and have many drawbacks in their ability to clean irregular pool surfaces.
One such prior art device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,044 to Pansini. This prior art swimming pool cleaner is exemplary of the type which floats within the pool and moves relative to the inner surface thereof for effecting its cleaning action. This type of device has a number of deficiencies including a very basic one of occupying fluid space in the pool and thereby obstructing free use thereof on the part of swimmers. Attempts to overcome this deficiency have taken the form of built-in cleaning systems such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,304 to Ghiz. With this type of device, jets are disposed on the inner surface of the pool and positioned so as to deliver jet streams substantially parallel to the surfaces of the inner surfaces, i.e. the walls and bottom portions of the pool. However, this type of device merely stirs the sediment of debris into suspension whereby it is theoretically removed by the filtering system of the pool water circulating apparatus. This is highly inefficient and ineffective because by keeping these dirt particles constantly stirred up in a vast area of suspension very little of this sediment will ever pass through the main drain or surface skimmer in any reasonable time period of the filter cycle, i.e. sediments would tend to accumulate faster than they could be removed. Also, heavier particles tend not to go into suspension or to go into suspension near the pool bottom. Obviously, these heavier particles will not be taken away efficiently if they are constantly being moved about the pool arbitrarily.